Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Price Target Raised to $100.00

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) had its target price raised by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $100.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 19.77% from the company’s previous close.

MRK has been the subject of several other research reports. Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Citigroup started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.47.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 2.9%

MRK stock traded down $2.49 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $83.49. 5,807,441 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,586,098. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $105.07. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $208.55 billion, a PE ratio of 12.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $17.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Traynor Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,783 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,912,000 after purchasing an additional 1,774 shares during the last quarter. Field & Main Bank boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% during the third quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 18,683 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,568,000 after buying an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,060,529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,940,000 after purchasing an additional 15,366 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.9% during the third quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 10,326 shares of the company’s stock worth $867,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mystic Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% during the third quarter. Mystic Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,899 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,006,000 after buying an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.